XR = eXtended Reality (everything VR, AR, MR)

🥳 But there’s more:

There’s another sale on the Meta store.

PowerWash Simulator VR comes to Meta Quest.

Some spatial games for Apple Vision Pro.

eXtend your gaming:

Welcome to XR Gamer Digest #8

Discounts and Tips

🤩 Don’t forget you can get up to 25% discounts when you buy a game from the Meta Quest store. Go here and look for your game (we’re not affiliated with the website, but it’s a great tool).

🔻 There’s a new Meta Quest store sale: Other Worlds. You can save up to 60% on games like Assassin’s Creed Nexus, Demeo or Lego Brick Tales.

📺 YouTube VR on Meta Quest now features a "2D mode" for seamless switching between VR and 2D interfaces, multitasking capabilities, passthrough mode usage, in-app video watching, and supports 4K video playback.

🔌 I didn’t think of it, but if you’re interested in a Meta Quest 3 charging dock, here’s a review for it.

XR Games

🚿 "PowerWash Simulator VR" on Meta Quest received its first free post-launch content update, "The Muckingham Files," adding six new levels, jobs, locations, and stories, with a limited-time discount of up to 25% in the Meta Quest store.

🧩 "The Infinite Inside," a demo by Maze Theory for Meta Quest which is available now on App Lab, showcases a first-person adventure game that blends mixed reality and virtual reality, offering intricate mazes and puzzles with a silent narrative.

🌭 "Max Mustard," a VR platformer by Toast Interactive, will bypass Meta's App Lab to launch directly on the Quest Store on March 21. It features 40 levels and boss fights and it’s priced at just under $30. PC VR and PSVR 2 versions are expected mid-2024.

🙈 "Under Cover" is bringing the 90s back to life in a lightgun-themed VR FPS that offers an enjoyable but limited experience, lacking in content to encourage replayability despite its engaging gameplay and retro presentation.

🛰️ "Rogue Stargun," a VR space combat simulator inspired by Star Wars, featuring physics-based controls and a single-player campaign with over 24 missions, is now available on Meta Quest devices for $11, with a free demo also accessible via App Lab.

🏡 Friend of this newsletter, Jonathan, reviewed a game for the house flipper in you: House Flipper 2. The game is out on Steam.

⛱️ Owlchemy Labs is bringing "Job Simulator" and "Vacation Simulator," two of its hit VR titles, to Apple's Vision Pro, with "Job Simulator" priced at $19.99 and "Vacation Simulator" at $29.99, both including all previously released updates.

⛳️ Apple highlights twelve unique spatial games for the Apple Vision Pro on Apple Arcade. Among them: What the Golf?, LEGO Builder's Journey and Synth Riders.

XR News

🥽 Mark Zuckerberg reviewed Apple's Vision Pro, concluding that Meta's Quest 3 is a better product overall, citing its value, comfort, and performance, despite acknowledging Vision Pro's superior eye tracking.

🥽 Apple's Vision Pro now features a native TikTok app, redesigned for the headset to offer a familiar yet expanded interface for video viewing, including features like viewing videos with real-world surroundings visible or in fully virtual locations.

🤖 Meta has introduced the ability for Horizon Worlds users to appeal bans suspected of violating the social VR app's Code of Conduct, enhancing user control over account restrictions and content moderation.

👓 Samsung, in partnership with Google, is entering the XR market, potentially offering a middle ground between Meta's gaming-focused Quest headsets and Apple's Vision Pro with its extensive ecosystem.

🥽 XR Today lists six affordable alternatives to the Apple Vision Pro, including XREAL Air 2 Ultra, HTC VIVE Flow, Solos AirGo 3, Meta Quest 3, RayBan Smartglasses, and the upcoming Immersed Visor, offering a range of prices and features for those of us seeking spatial computing experiences without the high cost of Vision Pro.

🤓 Brilliant Labs has launched "Frame," the world's first smart glasses with an integrated AI assistant named Noa, capable of running GPT4, Stability AI, and Whisper AI models simultaneously. Designed to develop a unique personality through user interaction, Frame offers real-time translations, environmental input processing, and price comparisons in stores, all displayed on a MicroOLED within a 20-degree field of view, priced at around $350.

Until next time, enjoy your other reality gaming!

Bobby Voicu